


Birthday Kisses

by thebearking



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gender-neutral Reader, M/M, Mutant Reader, Other, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, reader with powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 20:32:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7478967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebearking/pseuds/thebearking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You teach Steve the concept of birthday kisses, one for each year of life. You figure that he's cashing in these kisses with you because he's close to you. That turns out to not be the case.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> gender-neutral reader who is a member of the avengers who has pyrokinesis and is known as "the inferno." enjoy!

When he woke up that morning, Steve had been expecting birthday wishes, claps on the back, hugs, maybe even a cake. What he hadn’t expected was you in the kitchen, still in your pajamas, assembling something at the counter with no one else to be seen.

“Y/N?” he called out to you.

You startled slightly, turning to face him with a smile. “Happy birthday, Cap!” you exclaimed, holding out a full plate of food to him.

Steve’s eyes widened: first, because he saw that you were wearing a Captain America T-shirt, and second, because you were holding out to him the prettiest stack of blueberry pancakes he had ever seen. His eyes crinkled with a smile. “Thanks, Y/N, you didn’t have to, really.” He stepped around the kitchen island to take the plate from you and sit in one of the barstools. While you slid a glass of milk and the bottle of maple syrup over to him, he admired your masterpiece. There were six pancakes, each blooming with just the right amount of blueberries. In the center of his first pancake was a neat dollop of butter, whipped and perfectly round, just like at the diner across the street. The sight made Steve’s mouth water, especially after he drizzled syrup over the top. “Thank you,” he murmured again. You grinned and handed him a fork and knife; he dug in quickly.

“So, birthday boy,” you began, crossing your arms and leaning up against the counter to watch Steve as he ate, “How do you wanna spend your special day?”

Steve shrugged. “Well, I’m sure Tony has some extravagant get-together planned. You know he likes using any excuse to throw one of his fancy bashes.”

You arched an eyebrow at him. “I asked what _you_  wanted to do, Cap, not Tony. And if there _is_  a bash for you tonight—” He looked up to find you winking at him. “—I’d say we still have hours before that happens. What do you feel like doing in the meantime? I’m all yours.”

Steve chewed thoughtfully before lifting his gaze to meet yours, his cheeks tinted a faint pink at your words. “A walk around town, maybe? Maybe the park?”

You winced before you could stop yourself. “You sure walking around on your birthday out in public is such a good idea? I’d hate for you to be swarmed with fans.”

Steve grinned. “I’ll just have to bring you along with me to protect me then, won’t I?”

Your cheeks seared with heat. You willed yourself to stay cool, for your hair to not go up in flames, and a smile found its way back to your face. “Sounds like a plan. You eat those and I’ll meet you at the lobby in an hour.” You walked around the island to his seat, reaching over to ruffle his hair and press a quick kiss to his temple. “Take your time though, Cap. It’s your day. You make the rules.” You winked at him before heading out.

“Oh, Y/N?”

You stopped, glancing at Steve over your shoulder. “Yeah, Cap?”

You saw him swallow hard. “Wear that black buttom-up of yours,” he called out to you. You could see his cheeks growing redder by the second. He rubbed the back of his neck with a hand, adding timidly, “It looks nice on you.”

* * *

You spent the afternoon traipsing around the city with Steve at your side. In your jeans and black button-down, you’d hoped you weren’t too conspicuous. Thankfully, as the Inferno, you were on fire most of the time you were out saving the city, and so your face was rarely on display to the public. Steve was decked out in his usual disguise—jeans, leather jacket, baseball cap, sunglasses—and he didn’t seem fidgety in the slightest. You walked with your hand clasping his bicep, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the feel of how toned he was beneath his sleeve. It got worse when the sun began to set and Steve offered his jacket to you. Foolishly, you decided to forgo reminding him that your core body temperature was nearly 200 degrees, accepting the jacket gratefully. You managed to last the entire afternoon without openly ogling him—even when you noticed that he was wearing _that_ dark blue button-down, the one that sent shivers down your spine.

Around eight P.M., you received a text message from Tony: _Ready when you are_. You and Steve returned to the tower, and the look on Steve’s face when the lights flicked on and everyone leaped out from their hiding places with a resounding _“Surprise!”_  was priceless. Steve glanced at you with a smirk, and you nudged him forward with a hand at the small of his back.

“Go enjoy yourself, Cap,” you said. “You’ve spent the whole day with me. I know Bucky and Sam want their Steve Time.” You patted his arm and slipped away to hug Tony, thanking him for putting the party together. Right on cue, Bucky and Sam tackled Steve with bear hugs that sent them all tumbling to the ground. You chuckled half-heartedly, for a moment wishing you could’ve kept Steve all to yourself, but when you saw the grin on his face, you couldn’t help but smile.

* * *

Around nine, the fireworks began, illuminating the New York skyline with red, gold, white, green, and blue, so much blue. Steve stood at the railing next to you as one after another, American flags lit up the sky before fading into silvery sparks. One firework even formed the shape of his shield; he grinned at the sight.

Steve snuck glances at you during the display, hoping to gauge your reaction. Each time he looked at you, you were gaping or smiling, even gasping, in awe of the fireworks, each explosion of color reflected in your eyes. You looked stunning; with the top few buttons of your shirt undone, he could see you the hollow of your throat, the wings of your clavicle. Your hair looked so soft that he had to physically fight the urge to reach out and tousle it affectionately. You were standing so close to him, and when he realized just how small the distance was between you two, it became hard to breathe.

You seemed to feel his eyes on you, and you turned to look up at him, your eyes bright with excitement, your whole face lit up with a smile. He knew he was staring at you intensely, almost fearfully, that he might be making you uneasy, but he couldn’t stop himself. He couldn’t stop _looking_  at you.

“Steve?” He saw your mouth form his name. God, your lips looked amazing when you did that.

Steve swallowed and pivoted to face you, stepping toward you until you were just a hairsbreadth away. You left one hand on the railing as you faced him as well, peering up at him in concern. He leaned down, his hand coming up to frame your cheek, and closed his eyes as he touched his lips to yours.

The kiss lasted for all of ten seconds, but for Steve, it felt like eternity, and for you, it felt like an instant. He pulled away before you could reciprocate, your brain having barely registered what had happened. You stood there blankly, your mouth open in a small _o,_ while he turned to face the fireworks, biting his lip nervously.

It was your turn to keep sneaking glances at him. Steve could feel your eyes burning into him. You radiated warmth, much more warmth than usual. Were you blushing? He knew that he was blushing. He cleared his throat, tugging on the neckline of his shirt. Your lips had been so soft… He could practically still feel them against his own.

He jumped a bit when he felt a sudden warm weight leaning into him. You were pressed against his side, tucked yourself under his arm with your head resting on his chest. Your own arms came up to encircle his waist, pulling him closer to you. Steve peeked down at you; you looked like you were grinning. The smile that claimed his own face felt uncontrollable. He relaxed against you, watching as the fireworks drew to a close with one last American flag.

“Happy birthday, Steve,” you murmured. He nuzzled his face into your hair, wanting to stay with you, like this, forever. Hell, judging by the looks of everyone silently leaving the balcony, throwing him thumbs-up, they were going to let him. He didn’t plan on moving away any time soon, and he figured that since you remained snuggled up to him, sighing contentedly, you didn’t either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all know what shirt i'm talking about right? the blue one? from age of ultron? that shirt does stuff to me [shivers]
> 
> here's the shirt if you don't know which one (or if you simply want some eye candy): https://49.media.tumblr.com/d557223991e60ab6482ced14df4e1ea3/tumblr_o0dy6bYPSx1r9pt1so1_250.gif


End file.
